Jeremiah 49
1 This is what the Lord says about the Ammonites: Don't the Israelites have any children? Don't they have heirs to inherit their property? So why has Milcom taken over the territory belonging to the tribe of Gad? Why are his people living in their towns?
Concerning the children of Ammon. Thus saith Jehovah: Hath Israel no sons? Hath he not an heir? Why then doth Milcom inherit Gad, And his people dwell in his cities?
2 Watch out! The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will signal the attack on the Ammonite town of Rabbah. It will be turned into a pile of ruins, and its villages will be burned down. Then the Israelites will drive out the people who took over their land, says the Lord.
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will cause a cry of war to be heard against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, And she shall become a ruinous heap, And her daughters shall be burned with fire; And Israel shall take possession of their land, who took possession of his.
3 Weep, people of Heshbon, for the town of Ai has been destroyed. Cry for help, people of Rabbah! Put on clothes made of sackcloth and start mourning; run to and fro inside your city walls, because your god Milcom will go into exile along with his priests and leaders.
Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste! Cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, Gird yourselves with sackcloth, lament, And run ye to and fro within the fences! For Milcom goeth into captivity, His priests and his princes together.
4 Why do you boast that your valleys are so productive, you unfaithful people? You trust in your wealth, saying, “Who would dare attack us?”
Wherefore dost thou glory in the valleys? Thy valley shall flow [[with blood]], O perverse daughter, That gloriest in thy treasures, [[Saying, ]] “Who shall come against me?”
5 Watch out! I'm going to bring the surrounding nations to terrorize you, declares the Lord God Almighty. You will all be driven out and scattered, and no one will be able to gather you refugees together again.
Behold, I will bring a terror upon thee, saith Jehovah of hosts, From all those that are around thee, And ye shall be driven out, every one right forth, And there shall be none to gather up the fugitives.
6 However, later on I will bring you Ammonites back from exile, declares the Lord.
But after this will I bring back the captivity of the sons of Ammon, saith Jehovah.
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says about Edom: Aren't there any wise people left in Teman? Isn't there any good advice from those with insight? Has their wisdom rotted away?
Concerning the Edomites. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? Is counsel passed away from the prudent? Is their wisdom vanished?
8 Turn and run away! Find somewhere to hide, people of Dedan, because I'm bringing disaster down on you descendants of Esau when I punish you.
Flee ye, turn ye back, Dwell in deep places, O ye inhabitants of Dedan! For the destruction of Esau do I bring, The time of his punishment upon him.
9 If people harvesting grapes came to you, they'd leave some behind, wouldn't they? If thieves came during the night, they'd only steal what they wanted, wouldn't they?
If grape-gatherers had come upon thee, Would they not have left some gleanings? If thieves by night, They would have destroyed only till they had enough.
10 But I'm going to strip the whole country of bare, leaving its people with nowhere to hide. All of Esau's descendants will be destroyed, along with their relatives and friends—they will all be gone.
But I will make Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding-places, So that he shall not be able to hide himself. His offspring shall be destroyed, and his brethren, and his neighbors, And he shall be no more.
11 However, you can leave your orphans to me because I will protect them. Have your widows put their trust in me.
Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive, And thy widows, let them trust in me!
12 This is what the Lord says: If those who were not required to drink from the cup of judgment had to do so, how could you not be punished yourselves? You won't go unpunished, because you have to drink it too.
For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, they who ought not to have drunk the cup have deeply drunken, And shalt thou go altogether unpunished? Thou shalt not go unpunished; Thou shalt surely drink.
13 I made myself a solemn promise, declares the Lord, that the town of Bozrah will become a place that horrifies people, a complete humiliation, a pile of ruins, and a name that's used as a curse word. All its surrounding towns will also be left in ruins forever.
For by myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah, That Bozrah shall become an astonishment, A reproach, a desolation, and a curse; And all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.
14 I received this message from the Lord. He has sent a messenger to the nations: Get yourselves ready to attack Edom! Prepare for battle!
I have heard a proclamation from Jehovah, And an ambassador hath been sent among the nations, [[Saying, ]] “Assemble yourselves, and come against her, And arise to battle!”
15 Watch as I will make you insignificant compared to other nations—everyone will look down on you.
For, behold, I will make thee small among the nations, Despised among men.
16 The fear you once created in others, and your pride in yourselves, has fooled you into overconfidence, you people living on the rocky mountain tops. Though you make your homes high out of reach like an eagle's nest, I will tear you down, even from there, declares the Lord.
Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, The pride of thy heart, Because thou dwellest in the recesses of the rock, And holdest the height of the hill. Though thou set thy nest on high, like the eagle, From thence will I bring thee down, saith Jehovah.
17 People will be horrified at what's happened to Edom. Everyone passing by will be shocked, and will sneer at all its damage.
And Edom shall be an astonishment: Every one that passeth by her shall be astonished, And shall hiss on account of all her plagues.
18 Just as Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, along with their neighboring towns, says the Lord, nobody will live there—they will become uninhabited.
As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, And their neighboring cities, saith Jehovah, There shall not a man abide there, Nor a son of man dwell within her.
19 Watch out! I'm going to come like a lion from the tangled undergrowth beside the Jordan to attack the animals grazing the green pasture. In fact I'm going to chase the Edomites from their land very quickly. Who will I choose to conquer them? Who is like me? Who can challenge me? Which leader could oppose me?
Behold, he [[the enemy]] cometh up like a lion from the pride of Jordan against the habitation of the rock; Suddenly will I drive him [[Edom]] thence, And him who is chosen by me will I set over her. For who is like me, Or who will summon me to trial? Or who is the shepherd that will stand up against me?
20 So listen to what the Lord has planned to do to Edom and the people of Teman: Their children will be dragged away like lambs from the flock, and because of them their pasture will become a wasteland.
Therefore, hear ye the purpose of Jehovah, Which he hath formed against Edom, And the designs which he meditateth against the inhabitants of Teman! Surely he [[the enemy]] shall drag them forth like feeble sheep; Surely he shall come upon them, And make their pastures desolate.
21 When they fall, the sound they make will make the earth shake; their cries will be heard all the way to the Red Sea.
At the noise of their fall the earth trembleth, Even to the Red Sea is their cry heard.
22 Watch as an enemy like an eagle flies high, then swoops down, spreading its wings as it attacks Bozrah. At that time Edom's warriors will be as scared as a woman in labor.
Behold, like an eagle, he [[the enemy]] cometh up, And spreadeth his wings over Bozrah; And the hearts of the heroes of Edom, in that day, Shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
23 A prophecy about Damascus: The towns of Hamath and Arpad are disturbed, because they've received bad news. They are fearful, restless like the sea. Nothing can calm their worries.
Concerning Damascus. Hamath and Arpad are confounded; They faint, because they have heard evil tidings. There is anxiety at the sea; It cannot be at rest.
24 The people of Damascus are demoralized—they turn and run away in panic, overcome by pain and anguish like a woman in labor.
Damascus is faint-hearted; She turneth herself to flee; Trembling hath seized on her; Anguish and pangs have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.
25 Why isn't the city that is praised deserted, the city that made me happy?
“Why is not the praised city left, The city of my joy?”
26 For on that day its young men will die in its streets, all its defenders will be killed, declares the Lord of Hosts.
Yea, her young men shall fall in her streets, And all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, Saith Jehovah of hosts.
27 I'm going to set fire to the walls of Damascus; that will burn down the fortresses of Ben-hadad.
Yea, I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, Which shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.
28 A prophecy about the land of Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that were attacked by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. This is what the Lord says: Go and attack Kedar; destroy the people of the east!
Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, smote. Thus saith Jehovah: Arise ye, go up against Kedar, And spoil the sons of the East!
29 Take their tents and their flocks! Carry off their tent curtains and all their possessions! Take their camels for yourselves. Shout out to them: “Terror is everywhere!”
Their tents and their flocks shall they take away; They shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their furniture, and their camels, And men shall cry to them, “Terror is on every side.”
30 Run! Get away as far as you can! Find somewhere to hide, people of Hazor, declares the Lord. For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has made plans to attack and destroy you.
Flee, get you far off, dwell in deep places, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith Jehovah. For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, meditates a design against you, And has formed a purpose against you.
31 Go and attack that self-satisfied nation that thinks it's safe, declares the Lord. They don't have any barred gates and have no allies.
Arise ye, go up against a nation at ease, That dwelleth securely, saith Jehovah; Which hath neither gates nor bars; Which dwelleth alone.
32 Their camels and large herds will be plunder for you. I will scatter them everywhere, these desert people who trim their hair on the sides of their heads. I will bring disaster down on them from all directions, declares the Lord.
And their camels shall be a booty, And the multitude of their cattle a spoil; And I will scatter to all the winds them that shave the cheeks, And from every side will I bring their calamity, saith Jehovah.
33 Hazor will become a place where jackals live, a place abandoned forever. No one will live there; it will become uninhabited.
And Hazor shall be a dwelling for jackals, A desolation forever. There shall not a man abide there, Nor any son of man dwell therein.
34 This is the Lord's message that came to Jeremiah the prophet about Elam. This was at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
The word of Jehovah which came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, saying: —
35 This is what the Lord Almighty says: Look! I'm going to smash the bows of the Elamites, the weapon they rely on for their power.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I break the bow of Elam, The chief part of their strength.
36 I will bring winds from all directions to attack Elam, and I will scatter them in all directions. There won't be a nation that doesn't have some of Elam's exiles.
And I will bring against Elam The four winds from the four extremities of the heavens, And I will scatter them to all these winds, And there shall be no nation To which the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
37 I will smash the Elamites in front of their enemies, before those who want to kill them. In my furious anger I will bring disaster down on them, declares the Lord. I will chase them down with the sword until I have destroyed them.
For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, And before them that seek their life. And I will bring evil upon them, The fierceness of my anger, saith Jehovah. And I will send after them the sword, Until I have consumed them.
38 I will set up my throne in Elam, and destroy its king and officials, declares the Lord.
And I will set up my throne in Elam, And I will destroy from thence king and princes, saith Jehovah.
39 However, later on I will bring the Elamites back from exile, declares the Lord.
But it shall come to pass in future times, That I will bring back the captivity of Elam, saith Jehovah.
